In an Accident? Go to the Emergency Room!

If you are in an auto accident that is someone else’s fault, and you are feeling pain of any type at the scene, go the the Emergency Room!  Many people refuse an ambulance or delay medical care hoping that the pain will go away.   When it doesn’t, the delay in seeking medical treatment has compromised their injury claim in the eyes of the other driver’s insurance company.   It is critically important first to tell the police officer at the scene that you are injured.  Second, if the pain is significant, accept the officer’s offer to call an ambulance.   Third, even if you don’t take the ambulance, drive to the emergency room right away to be checked out.  This creates both a legal and medical contemporaneous record of your injury, not only assisting future doctors in your medical care, but also preventing an insurance company down the road from trying to claim you were not really injured in the accident.